Nepal's crown prince shot dead the king, the queen and seven relatives, and was king for three days while in a coma

On 1 June 2001, at a Friday family dinner in the Tribhuvan Sadan wing of Narayanhiti Palace, Crown Prince Dipendra opened fire with automatic weapons. He killed his father King Birendra, his mother Queen Aishwarya, his brother Nirajan, his sister Shruti and five other relatives, then shot himself in the head. Under the rules of succession he became king while in a coma. He died on 4 June, and his uncle Gyanendra took the throne. A two-man inquiry named Dipendra as the killer. Press reports linked the shooting to his parents' refusal to approve his marriage to Devyani Rana^†. Many Nepalis did not accept the inquiry, because Gyanendra's son Paras survived the room. On 23 August 2007 the interim government nationalised the property Gyanendra had inherited from Birendra, including Narayanhiti Palace; property he owned before he became king was not affected. Parliament abolished the monarchy on 28 May 2008. Gyanendra left the palace on 11 June 2008, and it became a museum. In 2025 pro-monarchy rallies in Kathmandu called for his return. He lives as a private citizen at Nirmal Niwas in Kathmandu.